The One About Matthew Perry: 5 Key takeaways that go beyond his Friends fame

Netflix has released the three-part documentary titled The One About Matthew Perry, revolving around the Friends star and his tragic death reportedly from the acute effects of ketamine.

The One About Matthew Perry gives viewers a chance to know Matthew Perry beyond the jokes and one-liners that made Chandler Bing so loved through the memories shared by his sister, close friends, and others who were part of his life. Additionally, it also touches on the good times he enjoyed and the struggles he faced along the way.

Let's look at 5 things the documentary reveals about Matthew Perry beyond Friends.

The One About Matthew Perry offers a closer look at the man behind Chandler Bing

A still from The One About Matthew Perry trailer (Image via YouTube/@Netflix)

1) Matthew Perry's addiction began with an on-set accident

Matthew Perry just wanted to be famous, as revealed in The One About Matthew Perry. Eventually, he also received the offer for Friends. Alongside Friends, he also did many famous projects, including Fools Rush In, Go On, and Three to Tango.

During the lunch break while filming Fools Rush In, the actor got permission to get on the jet ski and got injured, as revealed by Doug Draizin. He was prescribed medication by the doctor, which gave him a sense of euphoria. Speaking about the medication, Perry said:

"I had no idea what was going on. The doctor gave me a pill in a package and said, ‘Take this when you’re done shooting.’ I did and then I felt this incredible euphoria. So why wouldn’t I take more?"

However, it quickly turned into dependence as he started taking it more.

2) Batman was always his favorite hero

Matthew Perry's love for Batman was something he carried with him for years. His sister, Mia Perry Bowick, remembers just how much the actor loved the superhero when he was growing up. In The One About Matthew Perry, she talks about his huge collection of Batman-related items. One detail that gained her attention was a Batman action figure lying under his bed when he was taken out of the ICU.

According to Bowick, Perry's assistant was the one who brought the Batman figure to the hospital. But how it kept turning up in different places was something she couldn't explain. It somehow went from the emergency room to surgery and then made its way back to the ICU. As Bowick recalls, the little figure stayed with Perry throughout his hospital stay and even went home with him afterward.

3) A ruptured colon nearly took his life

One of the scariest moments in Perry's life came in 2018, when a ruptured colon left him in a coma and caused sepsis. His condition became very serious, and doctors had to use an ECMO machine to keep him alive. Looking back at that night in The One About Matthew Perry, Perry revealed:

"I was given a 2% chance to survive the night. … They put you on an ECMO machine when it’s a Hail Mary, and five people were on ECMO that night, and the other four died — and I somehow made it."

For Bowick, the crisis felt even more personal as she had left the same ICU just six weeks earlier after giving birth. With Perry fighting for his life, she became his power of attorney.

4) Matthew Perry's sister thought he was finally doing well

In The One About Matthew Perry, Mia talks about how much better Perry seemed to be doing after he started ketamine treatment for depression. He had spent three months in the hospital after his colon ruptured, and seeing him improve both physically and emotionally was a relief for her. While Mia didn't know about the extra ketamine doses he used to take, Perry's live-in assistant knew about the same.

After the 2021 Friends reunion, Bowick says she began to fear that her brother's addiction might eventually take his life. Speaking of her relationship with Perry, Bowick told Tudum that she eventually understood she couldn't control his choices, no matter how much she loved him.

Once she stopped feeling responsible for keeping him alive, she found it easier to enjoy their time together and share a closer bond with her brother during the last few years of his life.

5) Matthew Perry's music taste was different from most

In The One About Matthew Perry, his close friends shared some fun memories of his music taste from his early days in Hollywood. His choices were not exactly what you might expect! Roger Castillo and David Pressman remembered how he would drive around Sunset Blvd in his little red convertible with the top down, playing songs by John Tesh and Enya. And that was just the beginning.

According to Evelyn Sallinger, he was a big fan of the slower version of "I Took a Pill in Ibiza." According to Perry's sister, his favorite song was "Rainbow Connection" from The Muppets.

Tim Harrington, who met Perry at an AA meeting in 2001, remembered how they would drive to their morning meetings in West Hollywood, listening to "Drops of Jupiter" by Train along the way.

The One About Matthew Perry is streaming on Netflix.